


Dark Hour Thieves

by NicktheHuman



Category: Persona 3, Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-04
Updated: 2019-10-18
Packaged: 2020-10-06 20:15:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20512862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NicktheHuman/pseuds/NicktheHuman
Summary: Being alive again was probably a bad sign, and Minato knew it. Still, he hoped that maybe with some new and old friends, things would end up okay.





	1. Awake Again

**Author's Note:**

> This is purely a fanwork and I own nothing.

Minato Arisato was awake. 

This, in and of itself, posed a problem, for he distinctly remembered sacrificing his life force to seal away Nyx, and prevent the extinction of all life. Sure, he soldiered on, exhausted as ever, for a few months to spend time with his loved ones, but he didn’t make it past March before...

_Right,_ he sat up against the cold cement. _I died in Aigis’ arms. Good times._

Minato looked around. If he was awake, for whatever reason, then surely it was for a purpose. But where was he and why?

The discolored moon around him brought a wave of dread that sat in the pit of his stomach. 

“The Dark Hour,” he sighed, voice flat in pitch as always. “Great.” He stood up and stretched, picking himself off the cold, dark pavement and allowing his eyes to adjuster to his surroundings. 

Despite his calm demeanor, his mind was racing. If he was alive, the Great Seal was broken, which would cause the Dark Hour to return, and could only mean Nyx believed humanity desired The Fall. This wasn’t even done out of malice; it was just a collection of desire. 

But his sacrifice had been to seal away the desire of death within humanity. Maybe that was undone too...somehow.

Trying to gather his surroundings proved difficult; there were coffins along the street everywhere, and as he stepped forward, he accidentally kicked something that gave the sound of steel. He looked to his feet; his sword and his Evoker lay at his feet. 

“Really hope I don’t need these,” he grumbled, picking them up. “Especially considering I don’t feel any of my Personas...”

As he wandered the crowded area, it looked like a station square, but certainly not one he had seen going to Gekkoukan or the dorm. It was...much bigger. Finally, he came across a small sign, and nearly did a double take at what he read.

“Shibuya Station.”

Minato blinked. “How...did I get here?”

Despite those being the words on Minato’s lips, the underlying question on his mind was more about why he was there.   
\---  
Ren Amamiya had seen, in the words of his best friend Ryuji, some shit in his life. You don’t live through the game of a Demiurge with the power of the Wild Card without having been put through the wringer a few times. That was just life. 

He had moved to Yongen-Jaya after graduation to attend university in Tokyo, as well as work part time in Leblanc. This was mutually beneficial to quite a few people; it was close to the train where Ren could easily travel to and from school, he had his free room above the cafe, and he was by his friends. It also helped Sojiro, because in his age, it was getting harder to run the cafe full time, and Ren would help out for room and board instead of pay. 

It was Friday night, which was supposed to mean Ren would be getting off the train at the Shibuya after his night classes and transferring home to visit Makoto, who was also in town for the weekend. Whenever their studies allowed, they would retreat to the attic of Leblanc to be together; spending their days with their fellow Phantom Thieves, whereas nights were reserved for the two of them as lovers. 

But the moment he stepped off his train, everything changed. The night air took a cold chill, and the moon took on an odd hue. As he looked down, Ren gasped in shock; he was surrounded by coffins. Not a soul in sight, the lively streets of Shibuya were now littered with upright caskets. 

He reached out, gently, to feel the solid wood and make sure this wasn’t a dream, but was shocked as well to see his hands, which he remembered being bare, were now clothed in red leather gloves. He glanced over himself, and his heart jumped into his throat. 

Ren was in his Joker attire, down to his knife and model gun holstered to his side. “What?!” 

He reached up to his face, feeling slightly abetted by the mask across his face, concealing his identity - not that anyone was around to see it. 

A deep voice boomed from his head. **Rebellious one, it has been too long!**

“Arsene...?” Ren whispered, voice quivering slightly. “Arsene, is that...?”

The gentleman thief gave his evil laugh as he appeared before the boy, ethereal looking as always. **Of course! I am thou, and thou art I. Even if I live within, it is good to be freed. **

Joker grinned. His heart began to race, along with his mind at the possibilities. This distinctly wasn’t the Metaverse, and for him to have his Persona here...he knew that it was probably a bad sign, but to be honest... 

“I missed this,” Joker chuckled. 

Arsene laughed. **It’s no wonder. You are the Trickster, a being born for rebellion. I’ve longed to erupt from behind those books and beans you surround yourself with. **

“Tell me about it,” the boy agreed. Good grades or not, spending so much time studying left a lot to be desired. “Not to put a damper on this, but what’s going on?”

“Hey, cool Persona.” 

Ren jumped, and amusingly, so did Arsene. Far to his right, in a gap in the coffins, stood a teenage boy in a school uniform of some kind, though Ren couldn’t recognize it. A pair of headphones hung around his neck, and one of his eyes was covered by a messy mop of blue hair. He had managed to sneak up on the two while Ren was in the shock of even having a Persona after two years of absence, and here was this kid acting like it was a common, everyday occurrence to seeing one in the real world.

Perhaps that was why the best response a dumbfounded Ren could muster was, “Wha...?”

The boy gave a small snort of laughter, though his expression remained rather wooden. His tone matched it, a flat monotone, “The demon looking guy. Right there.” He pointed at Arsene for emphasis. “That’s your Persona, right? It’s neat.” 

Ren looked at Arsene, who, to his annoyance, just shrugged back at his user. 

Minato, meanwhile, evaluated Arsene. He’d never summoned a Persona like that before. Then again, there were plenty of personas he couldn’t summon, like the ones his friends used. He was less impressed by his user though; what kind of silly get-up was he wearing? “Are you part of SEES too?” 

Ren snapped back to reality and shifted into, “Joker,” mode, like it was something he’d been doing everyday for years. He took an authoritative stance with a flutter of his jacket. “Don’t know what that is. Do you know what’s going on here? With the coffins?”

“Oh you must be new to being a Persona user,” Minato replied. “This is the Dark Hour. Duh. You know, when Shadows come out and you can use your Persona easier.” He glanced down at the holster on the older teen’s hip that had become apparent when the boy shifted his coat. “Oh cool, is that your Evoker? Looks really customized. Mine’s pretty plain.” 

Minato held up his Evoker for show, but Joker took a step back, defensively. Understandably so, considering the last person to take a gun to him was Akechi. Quick on the draw, Joker took out his own gun and fired.

A small airsoft pellet flew out and bounced off Minato’s chest. He frowned, slightly, though his voice remained flat as it had been since the conversation started. “Ow. Rude. That’s probably going to bruise.” 

_Gun’s not working!_ Joker scowled, and charged Minato for his standard knife attack.

Minato sighed, pocketing his Evoker. “Come on...”

It was easy for Minato to read Joker’s movements, the knife slash telegraphed from a mile away. He side stepped as Joker leapt into the air off the slash, the masked teen’s face contorting into surprise when he realized he missed. Not one to miss a beat, Minato grabbed the back of Joker’s head with his left hand and threw him face first against the ground, and backed up. 

“That probably works on Shadows, but you need to change it up against a human opponents.” Minato said, sounding like the whole ordeal was just boring. 

A bit embarrassed, Joker climbed to his feet with Arsene looming over him. “So...you’re not a Shadow?” 

Minato squinted. “Are...are there Shadow’s that look like people?” He mulled the idea over. He supposed if Ryoji looked human from being the Appriser, humanoid Shadows wasn’t farfetched.

“You must be a coginition then,” Joker reasoned, pocketing his knife and gun. As he lowered his defense, Arsene fizzled out of the air as well. 

“Pretty sure I’m just a human, dude.” Minato shrugged. “I’ve met some strange Persona users, but I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He looked up at the sky and frowned. “The Dark Hour is almost over. Maybe we should get out of here. People are going to look at you weird in that outfit. Maybe we can figure out what’s going on.”

Ren shifted, uneasily. “What...what’s the Dark Hour?” 

Minato closed his eyes and fought back the urge to groan. He wasn’t a big fan of explaining this; usually Mitsuru took care of that. “Well, in short, it’s the hidden hour that happens every night at midnight. The rest of the world freezes, and most people are unaware of it. They end up in coffins, like these. Technology doesn’t work - save for very specialized pieces of equipment - and Persona’s can be summoned if you have a gift. Shadows attack people without Personas, leaving cases of Apathy Syndrome. The problem is...I was supposed to have gotten rid of this.” 

Ren frowned. “That doesn’t make sense. I’ve had Personas for awhile, and it was accessed with an app...not a hidden hour.” 

Minato’s ears pricked at this news, for a few reasons. One, apparently this guy and his Persona were out of loop as far as anything he and SEES had accomplished. Second, he said, “Personas,” as in, more than one. He opened his mouth ask more, but it was then that the Dark Hour ended. The moon above them reverted to it’s normal pale glow, and suddenly people were pushing past the two boys. Minato blinked, and to his shock, the boy was suddenly in jeans in a hoodie instead of his silly thief costume. 

Ren looked down in surprise too, not expecting to be back in his usual clothes. But even moreso, as soon as this happened, his phone began to chime and vibrate almost violently. Forgetting the boy momentarily, he reached for the phone and answered the most pressing notification; a call from Makoto.

“Hey,” he answered, holding a finger up to the blue-haired boy. The boy just rolled his eyes in response, but nodded and took out his own cell phone out. Ren couldn’t help but notice it looked ancient compared to his. 

“Ren, are you okay?! The weirdest thing just happened! I was making some tea, when everything in Leblanc stopped and...”

“Were you in your thief gear?” Ren asked, quietly, interrupting.

“How did you know?!” 

“Same thing happened to me,” Ren sighed. “I saw Arsene too. I think...” He looked up and made eye contact with the blue-haired boy, “I think I may have met someone with answers though. Can you see if this happened to the others?” 

“I think Ryuji is already contacting the old group chat,” Makoto sighed. “But yes. Are you heading back?” 

“I am. I’ll have company.”

“Alright. Be careful, Ren. Don’t do anything reckless.” 

Ren chuckled. “Who, me?”

“Definitely you,” Makoto replied. Ren could almost hear her rolling her eyes. “Be safe. Love you.”

“Love you too,” he said, quietly, a bit embarrassed to say that in front of a stranger. Thankfully, the blue-haired boy’s had remained stoic at the exchange. He pocketed his phone and looked the boy up and down once more. He was just a bit shorter than Ren and looked a tad younger, but considering he had utterly no fear of Joker’s knife and countered the attack, he probably was not to be underestimated. “Can you come with me? I have some more questions about this...Dark Hour thing.”

Minato shrugged. “I literally have nowhere to go right now anyway, so sure.” He held out a hand. “The name’s Minato Arisato.” 

Ren hesitantly returned the gesture. “Ren Amamiya.” 

“Well Ren,” Minato replied, giving just a ghost of a smirk, “lead the way, and I’ll answer what I can.”


	2. Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren wasn't sure what to make this new guy, but he hoped Minato would be able to explain the Dark Hour to the Phantom Thieves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is purely a fanwork and I own nothing. 
> 
> I just finished a playthrough if Persona 3 trying to get all the Social Links. Spoiler Alert: I failed. 
> 
> You know what I succeeded in? Ugly crying at the end.

It was amazing to Ren how quickly Makoto could assemble the team, even after two years out of practice. He and Minato had barely gotten in the doors of Leblanc when Ryuji burst in the doors of Leblanc, the rest of the Phantom Thieves in tow.

“I don’t know how he got here before me,” Futaba yawned. “Friggin’ cheat codes or something.” 

“Dude, who cares?!” Ryuji beamed slouching against the counter as the rest of the group piled into booths and chairs. “We can use OUR EFFIN’ PERSONAS AGAIN!” 

Before anyone else could speak up, Makoto glared. “Let’s not be hasty. We don’t know anything about why this happening, and if Mementos was any indication, this Dark Hour might not be here for a good reason.” 

“It’s not,” Minato deadpanned from behind the counter, making everyone, save for Morgana, Makoto, and Ren, jump. He had been so still since the others had arrived, most of them hadn’t even noticed his presence. 

“Uh...Ren? Who's the kid?” Ann asked. 

_You're at most two years older than me,_ Minato thought, holding in a groan. Prior to having met his friends, he'd have a rude comment in response, but the bonds he'd forged at Gekkoukan had taught him to reign in his attitude. 

“This is Minato Arisato,” Ren explained, placing a hand on the blue-haired boy’s shoulder. “He can answer a little bit about the Dark Hour.” Ren went around the room, and introduced each Phantom Thief by name, each giving a little wave, ending with Morgana. 

Minato politely nodded to each, including Morgana. 

“That’s it?” Ryuji asked, a bit disappointed, “No like, ‘no way, the talkin’ cat uses a Persona,’ or anything?”

Minato shrugged. 

“He can even hear me!” Morgana mewed, happily. “This guy’s already sharper than you, Ryuji!” 

“So what can you tell us about this Dark Hour, Minato-kun?” Haru asked, urgently, hoping to stop Ryuji and Morgana from getting at each other’s throats. 

Minato drew in a deep breath and looked around at the group Ren told him composed his friends. Before they had arrived, Ren and Makoto had spent the rest of the brief time speaking to each other in hushed tones, while Morgana seemed more inquisitive about Minato himself. Still, he wasn’t going to sit here and judge the group; S.E.E.S. itself was a ragtag bunch of students in and of itself, let alone some well-oiled machine. 

He thought back to the explanation he received from Takeharu Kirijo back in the summer, and then filled in information he had learned over time from dealing with Strega, Ryoji, fighting the Nyx Avatar...

“...and so I become the great seal on Nyx, and uh... I... died.” Minato scratched the back of his head. “And that was supposed to get rid of the Dark Hour, so me being not-dead now and the Dark Hour coming back is probably related.” 

The group in front of him seemed absolutely floored by the tale; there was a heavy silence that hung over the small cafe before, finally, Ryuji leaned back and went, “Well shit.” 

"Such a way with words, Ryuji," Futaba snarked. 

“That’s...we’ve never heard of such a thing,” Yusuke mused, rubbing his chin. “We were at the brink of the apocalypse and none of us even knew.”

“Wait, something isn’t adding up,” Makoto said, although the look on her face was more of one of concern. “You said Takeharu Kirijo told you these things, but...how old were you when this happened?”

“It was only a few months ago,” Minato answered. “I think. Doesn’t feel like any time passed.”

“That’s impossible,” Makoto shook her head as she replied, though she seemed to know what her next statement would imply. “Takeharu Kirijo died nine years ago. His daughter has been running it since she graduated in 2010.” 

“Twenty...ten?” 

Ren looked over, a bit surprised. This was the first time Minato’s voice had broken from anything from the monotone he had quickly grown used to. Minato’s hands trembled slightly, and his eyes had widened, but he quickly gulped, and regained composure.

“What...what year is it?” Minato asked, although there was a noticeable shake in his flat voice. 

“It’s 2018.” Ann replied, hesitantly. 

The rest had caught on to the implications of this exchange, thought Minato voiced it anyway. He leaned against the counter and gave a pained sigh. “I’ve... I’ve been dead for eight years. That means all my friends...” 

Minato simply closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. After a moment, Makoto walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Do you want our help reaching out to them?” 

Minato looked uneasy. “I’m not sure.”

“Why?” Ann asked, a bit surprised. She leaned forward in the booth, a bit close. “I bet they’d be thrilled to know you were okay.”

Minato stared down at the counter. “You don’t understand. I sealed the Dark Hour. I shouldn’t be alive. Maybe they’d be glad to see me, maybe they wouldn’t...but what if I have to seal myself again?” 

Haru’s face fell when he said this. “You don’t want to hurt them again,” she looked at the table as she muttered this. "Oh, Minato..."

Minato shuffled his feet, discomfort etched on his face. “Something like that. But, at the same time, Mitsuru Kirijo is probably the most knowledgeable person about the Dark Hour, so I’m sure she would be able to help.” 

“Wait, you KNOW Mitsuru?!” Futaba leaned forward, dangerous close to teetering off the stool she was squatting on. “She’s been at the top of the 100 hottest CEOs list since she took over. I guess that’s not hard, most of them are wrinkly old dudes, but still, she’s a stone cold fox. Hubba Hubba.”

Yusuke looked at the shorter girl at the sound of his codename, confused, but she just rolled her eyes. “Not you, Inari.” 

Minato looked to his feet again. “She was my senpai in our high school dorm...and was in command of SEES. I was the field leader, but she was the brains of the operation.”

“Sounds just like Ren and Makoto!” Ann beamed, causing Ren and Makoto to gain a pink tinge in their cheeks, though everyone nodded along. 

Minato sighed again - a common occurrence tonight - and ran his hands through his hair. He was not a morning person, and although it was night time, far too much was happening in the few hours he’d been, “awake.”

“We don’t need to make that decision right this second,” Morgana decided, seeing the tension in the room. “If this Fall is making people lose their autonomy, it sounds a lot like the mental shutdowns we were dealing with concerning Akechi. None of that has been reported, so we don’t know how urgent the matter is. If Shadows are returning in the matter you claim, they would need a center of operations.”

“Like Tartarus, yes,” Minato agreed. “Although, if the pattern is similar, they could attack the public during a Full Moon.”

“That’s three weeks away though, so we should be fine,” Morgana replied. “So let’s meet tomorrow night and see if there is anywhere distorted by the Dark Hour to match the description of Tartarus or Mementos.”

Everyone agreed. Ren turned to his guest and asked, quietly so the others wouldn’t hear, “Hey, do you have anywhere to stay?”

Minato shook his head. 

“You want to camp out here for the night?” Ren asked. “I’ve got a couch upstairs and...”

Minato glanced back and forth from Ren to Makoto. “I uh...I’ll sleep in a booth. I have my headphones and all. Don’t want to interrupt anything.” 

Ren went a bit red, but nodded. “Alright.”

The Phantom Thieves bid each other farewell and agreed to meet up tomorrow. Ren ran upstairs and grabbed a spare blanket and pair of slacks for Minato, while Makoto bid the younger boy goodnight.

“Thanks for this,” Minato smirked. “Not being dead is a pain in the ass.”

Ren chuckled a bit. “I mean, I did try to kill you. Least I can do, really.” 

“Such hospitality. Oh,” Minato pulled his headphones on. “These are soundproof.”

Ren laughed and gave the boy a thumbs up. 

As the black-haired boy retreated, a familiar voice echoed In Minato’s head, almost making him scream. He hadn’t heard it in so long...

_You have reawakened a vow, giving rebirth to the Fool Arcana._

“Reawakened...?” Minato whispered, but there was no other response from the voice. “Huh...”

Minato changed in the restroom, and curled up against the old booth. It wasn’t the most comfortable sleep; he began to regret not taking up the offer of the couch, but he was no stranger to romance and didn’t want to be around the couple. Besides, as the days events caught up to him, he was happy to get a moment alone. 

He stared across the bottom of the table. His mind wouldn’t settle on one thing or another. Would Nyx return? Was there another Appriser?

But more personal questions were there, too. Eight years...

What were his friends up to? What had happened to the others in the last eight years? Hopefully they had gone on to live full, happy lives. That’s what he had wanted after all, when he gave himself up as the seal. 

His phone didn’t have service - obviously. The bill hadn’t been paid since 2010. But he was able to connect to the cafe’s wifi signal and surf the web, at least. 

On a whim, he looked up Yukari first, and nearly snorted with laughter as hundreds of clips from her came up from Featherman. He allowed himself to smile. That girl had been through so much, he was happy to see her doing so well for herself in the time he was gone. 

Junpei, slightly less so. Still, he was a baseball coach, from what he could gather from a quick search, though nothing else significant came up. That was perfect for him, really. Easy going, not a lot of paperwork. Maybe some things never changed? 

As he moved from Junpei, to Akihiko, Mitsuru, Ken, and Fuuka, he felt the sad smile stay on his face. All of his friends, grown and seemingly happy after nearly a decade since their exploits in S.E.E.S. Even Ken was approaching twenty! 

He looked at his phone and paused before searching for Aigis...after all, she was a robot, and even if she had become akin to a woman since their time together, would she have any online presence? A quick search didn’t reveal much. He hoped she was okay, wherever she was. 

To him, Aigis was...special. _If I had to die that young again, I wouldn’t chose any other way._

“Poor Koromaru,” he muttered to himself, eyes closing as he turned the volume up slightly on his headphones. Another realization had hit him, “I never even got to say goodbye.”

Even years later, the headphones Fuuka had made for him were still some of the best quality he could imagine. 

_Maybe,_ he thought to himself as he began to drift off, _Maybe I could see them one more time._  
\---

Minato’s eyes snapped open, and he found himself seated upright in a familiar, lyre-shaped chair. The room itself was completed darkened, but in front of him sat a table, with a single sheet of paper and pen on it. 

The paper simply read, “You accept responsibility for your actions from this moment forward.” 

There was a signature line at the bottom, and Minato smirked. “What’s the worst that can happen? Death again?” 

He signed, just as he had done all those years ago. 

If a game was afoot, Minato would win. He seemed to have a knack for it.


	3. The Dark Hour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Minato and the Phantom Thieves go out to explore the Dark Hour
> 
> WhAt CoUlD pOsSiBlY gO wRoNg?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: This is purely a fanwork and I own none of the characters within.

“Hey, kid.” 

Minato’s eyes snapped open. It felt like he had just signed the contract in the darkened Velvet Room when a gruff voice pulled him from his slumber. He was still laying in the booth, arms folded over this chest like a corpse and legs hanging into the aisle, but his headphones must have fallen out in the night. A man in a pink shirt was looking down at him, looking slightly amused. 

“Futaba said that troublemaker had company, but I didn’t realize he’d put you in a booth.”

Minato sat up, immediately feeling an ache in his lumbar at the sleeping accommodations, and stretched a bit. “Well, I certainly didn’t want to intrude.” 

The older man gave a small snort of laughter and extended his hand, which Minato shook politely. “Sojiro Sakura.”

“Minato Arisato.” 

“Futaba explained a bit about what happened...can’t really say I get all the Persona crap, but just be careful. These kids can be a bit reckless.” 

Minato breathed a sigh of relief. It was nice to not have to explain things first thing in the morning. 

Futaba, who was crouched at a stool behind them, just scowled. “Recklessly amazing.” 

Sojiro stepped back when he noticed the Evoker hanging off Minato’s belt. “Is that...?!” 

“It’s not real,” Minato replied, hastily. “It’s for my Persona. I’ll make sure it’s concealed though.” 

Sojiro nodded, a bit warily, and went behind the counter. “A-alright. I need to open up anyway.”

Futaba waved Minato over. “We’re taking this outside today. I already texted Ren and Makoto, they’ll join us when they wake up.” 

Minato simply nodded and followed the shorter girl out of the cafe. As pressing as this matter may be, he wondered how much Tokyo had changed since he had last visited it.   
\---

Ren gave a shiver from the early spring air and instinctively rolled to Makoto in an effort to worm his way into the blankets she had stolen from him in the middle of the night. He loved her, for sure, but she had a knack for wrapping herself in every available blanket in her slumber. 

“You’re not a Phantom Thief, you’re a Blanket Thief,” Ren grumbled into her neck as he curled himself around her back. 

Makoto, who was already stirring as the sunlight began to intrude into the attic filtered onto her face, heard this and snickered. She untangled herself slightly and threw a bit of blanket backwards as Ren draped an arm across her midsection. “Sorry.”

“No you’re not.” 

“You’re right,” she said through a yawn, “because then you get closer to me.” 

“Your evil knows no bounds,” Ren yawned. He reached over to the windowsill and grabbed his phone. “You’re lucky Mementos isn’t around.” 

Makoto took a shaky breath - she wasn’t nearly as good as flirting as he was - but managed to stammer out, “B-but you already s-stole my heart, Ren.” 

Ren snorted with tired laughter. “Oh man. I set you up for that one. And only two stutters.”

“Stop teasing me!” 

“Love you too.” Ren scrolled through his messages as Makoto threw a pillow at his head. “Looks like Boss already kicked out Minato and Futaba. We should get up to go meet them.”

He could almost hear the panic rising in Makoto as he closed his eyes. “Ah! That means we’re late. Damn it! Come on, we need to get going!” 

“Yes, my Queen.” 

She groaned. “Don’t call me that.”

\---

“So you had to act like you were popping yourself in the head EVERY TIME you wanted to use a Persona?” Ryuji asked, leaning against the alley wall by the Sakura residence. “That’s fucking metal.”

“It’s a little grim, I think,” Haru grimaced.

Minato shrugged. “I guess so. It was always explained that to control and wield a Persona was to accept the death of yourself for a rebirth into said Persona. And look where that got me.” He t-posed for emphasis. “I spent nine years as a door.” 

Yusukue framed Minato’s pose in his fingers. “I would have loved to have seen you as this Great Seal. It would have been a beautiful chance for a portrait.”

Ann nudged him gently in the ribs. “Don’t say that, it’s rude to talk about Minato being dead that way.” 

“It’s not like it makes him dead again,” Futaba snarked, drawing a laugh from the others. Even Minato gave a snort. 

“Ah, here comes the Leader now,” Morgana purred from a ledge wall. “It’s about time you two got out of bed!” 

Makoto turned a deep shade of red, though Ren just laughed it off. “Yeah, yeah. So, what did we miss?” 

“Our new little buddy here was just telling us about all the crazy stuff he got up to back when he was hunting Shadows in Iwatodai,” Ryuji beamed.

“Technically, he’s older than us though,” Haru interjected. “Is it right to refer to him as little buddy?”

“I think I was frozen. I wasn’t conscious and I didn’t grow or anything, so I still feel seventeen,” Minato shrugged. He paused, but added, “Don’t call me little buddy though.” 

“I think Joker meant more what our plans were for the Dark Hour,” Makoto sighed. 

Minato squinted. “Joker...?”

Before anyone else could answer, Morgana took the chance to be boastful; a trait that hadn’t changed in the last year. “We use Code Names! After all...we’re the legendary...PHANTOM THIEVES!” 

They hadn’t yet told Minato in too much detail about their exploit as Persona users, but Morgana posed as dramatically as a cat could. Minato just shifted his eyes a bit, and replied, slowly. “Uh...that’s neat.” 

“As you may recall, Mona, Minato-kun was deceased during those exploits,” Yusuke said. 

The rest of the early morning was spent filling in the blue-haired teen on just that; the events of Ren’s year in Shujin, from Kamoshida right up until the fight with Yaldabaoth. A few times, the others had to reign in Ren from going into unnecessary details; such as helping a fortune teller or getting their teacher out of debt. By the time the tale was finished, it was getting to be time for lunch. 

“Let’s take this guy to Shibuya for a beef bowl and we can pick a code name for him.” Ryuji suggested as his stomach grumbled. 

“We could name him Door-kun! Since he was a door!” Ann crowed proudly. 

Minato’s expressionless face changed into a blanche, prompting the rest to laugh. 

“We’ll think of something a bit better on the way,” Makoto assured him with a chuckle.   
\---  
Mitsuru drummed her fingernails against her desk. She had sent out messages to all her old contacts for the Shadow Operatives as soon as the Dark Hour had ended last night, and most had gotten back to her right away - save for Junpei, who had slept right through it. Still, he was the first to drop everything and assure Mitsuru he’d be there as soon as possible. Akihiko and Yukari needed to get leave from their jobs still.

“Problem, boss?” 

She looked up to see Ken holding a manila folder up for her; in her haze, she hadn’t even noticed him come in. She had hired him in as an intern while he was studying business, which had the added benefit of having him nearby for Shadow Operative work. “Just wondering about the Dark Hour. The more I ponder, the less the possibilities seem appealing.” 

“It’s a mystery, for sure. Hopefully Fuuka will have -”

A knock at the door interrupted them. “Speak of the devil,” Ken muttered.

Fuuka stumbled in haphazardly as Ken opened the door from her, alarming them both. While a pale girl to begin, she looked absolutely ghastly, her blue hair disheveled as if she had been running in a wind tunnel. “Yamagishi, what’s the matter?”

“I... I sensed a presence,” she cried, shakily.  
\---  
Minato wondered, briefly, if Ken had felt this way all those years ago; the runt of a group of older people. Granted, Ren and his friends were only a year or two older than he had been, but he felt woefully out of place with the group of college students - though it turned out Futaba was a senior in high school. _Even she’s my senpai, technically. I never started my senior year. I’ll have to ask Ken if I ever see him again,_ he pondered, putting away a beef bowl. “I got to tell you guys. I definitely missed food.” 

Ryuji clapped the young man on the back. “That’s just the beginning, let’s go see what else has changed since you’ve been gone, Stone.” 

They had decided on referring to Minato as, “Stone,” when referring to Phantom Thief operations, as per Yusuke’s description, “he has an expression that would not be shaken, sitting resolute and stoic in the face of anything.” 

At the suggestion, Minato responded with a resounding, passionate cry of, “Yeah, that's fine.” 

Haru giggled. “Ryuji, 2010 wasn’t so long ago that it’s going to be that different.” 

“Yeah I kind of remember all this stuff from before I started at Gekkoukan,” Minato admitted, rubbing the back of his head. “Sorry to be that lousy of a time traveler.” 

“Ah man,” Ryuji sighed. 

“In that case, let’s focus on the mission,” Morgana mewed from Ren’s bag. “What sort of place would transform into a place like Tarturus?” 

Minato took a drink of water and leaned back in his chair, “That’s just it. It was my old school that transformed, and that’s because it was involved in an accident involving Shadows. It was the place the Dark Hour was created. It could be anywhere, by that logic.”

“So you don’t even know where we should start?!” Morgana groaned. 

Minato shrugged. “I woke up by the Station. I’m going to suggest we start there.”   
\---  
The transition to the Dark Hour was nothing that Minato wasn’t used to. After all, he’d lived it for a long time. Still, as the people on the Shibuya streets changed into coffins, the noticeable shiver on his new friends’ faces was understandable. Even for him, this was more coffins than he had ever seen. 

The creepiness factor was balanced out by the fact that the Phantom Thieves transformed into a rather goofy looking set of costumes. Individually he supposed they weren’t terrible, but together they looked like a bunch of uncoordinated trick or treaters. _How does Ann even sneak around? Her suit is bright red._

Still, he stepped forward, figuring if he moved for where he had woken up, the others would follow. They did, silently. It was odd, this group seemed much more chatty than S.E.E.S. 

It made sense, though. After all, these were friends who found each other and fought Shadows to reform society. Minato and his friends were more or less recruited by the Kirijo Group. The friendships with the others came later, during things like operation Babe Hunt, or when Fuuka asked him to test the results of her cooking attempt. 

“S-so where did you wake up, Minato-kun?” Ann asked as they walked down a few blocks. The quiver in her voice made it pretty clear she wanted to distract herself from the rows of coffin surrounding themselves. 

“Right about... her - whoa!” His voice rose a fraction as he noticed something form at his feet. He couldn’t make out a shape, but it was a blinding light. His instincts as sharp as ever, he quickly jumped out of the way as a pillar of light burst from the ground, just barely dodging.

Looking back, he saw the Phantom Thieves were not as lucky, many of them thrown by the blast into coffins. “REN!” Minato shouted as the taller boy collapsed against the ground. 

“Looks like the Phantom Thieves allowed themselves to get rusty on their time off.” 

At the unfamiliar voice, Minato drew his sword and Evoker. “Who’s there?!” 

A man stepped out from behind a coffin, and if the Phantom Thieves hadn’t all just been blasted by his attack, Minato wouldn’t have given him much thought. In a garish, white outfit, he looked like he had just stepped out of a children’s superhero movie. “It’s unfortunate for you all that I’ve done nothing but prepare for this day while you all got sloppy.” Beneath his red mask, he looked at Minato. “You must be the child I’m seeking.”

“What, are you going to offer me candy to get into your van?” Minato sneered. 

The man with his long, beakhish red mask gave an airy laugh of condescension. “How quaint. Allow me to explain. After all; you owe me your life.” 

Minato’s ears burned. “What do you mean...?”

“I went out of my way to wake you....” He laughed. “As your friends well know, my name is Goro Akechi. Like you, I’ve the power of the Wild Card.” He drew a sword and a Persona formed in the air, looming over him. Minato recognized it as Loki. “Well then, shall we begin? I’m afraid you’ll need to come with me.”


	4. The Velvet Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Minato reunites with another old friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: This is purely a fanwork and I own nothing.

Whoever this Goro Akechi guy was, he was quick, Minato would give him that. But Minato was the best on the kendo team, and the only person who could match Mitsuru with a sword for a reason. While parrying every blow, he flicked his sword to knock the mask of Goro’s face. 

The unmasking had left a small cut on Goro’s cheek, and he scowled at Minato as the blue-haired teen memorized his face. 

“If you woke me up for this, that’s a really big letdown,” Minato said, monotonous as ever. 

The jab worked as Goro grit his teeth, lunging for Minato again. _Good. Sloppy._

An angry, horizontal slice. Minato was able to duck under it, spring up and thrust his left foot into Akechi’s stomach which knocked the man backwards. Minato went to advance when the Persona loomed overhead.

“MEGIDOLAON, LOKI!” 

Time seemed to slow down in Minato’s eyes, as he saw the Almighty attack be prepared. But he blinked and realized that time had indeed slowed down. In fact, it had stopped altogether. He blinked again and looked around. What was this about? Why had time...?

He sighed as an answer - perhaps not the one he expected - appeared to his right in the form of a plain blue door standing in the middle of nowhere. “Of course. What else would it be?”

Still, the interruption of his fight was a welcome one to be sure. With no hesitation, he walked over and entered the door, feeling himself enter a realm between mind and matter.

Another blink, and Minato found himself with his back against a lyre shaped chair once again, only this time, Igor was sitting across from him. 

“My dearest guest,” the long-nosed man chuckled behind tented fingers, “welcome back to the Velvet Room.” 

Minato smiled back in earnest. Despite his attitude, it felt great to see Igor once more. “Didn’t think I’d be coming back here.” His smile fell a bit as he saw a smaller girl next to Igor; she resembled Elizabeth slightly, but maybe half the size. She looked much more sour, as well. “I don’t think we’ve met.”

The girl frowned. “You are not my Trickster.”

"Uh...?" Minato answered, bewildered, looking from Igor to the smaller girl. "...no?"

Igor chuckled. “Forgive her. She is disheartened at these events, and I’m afraid Elizabeth is unavailable to assist you with Persona Fusions and the Compendium.”

Minato frowned; he would be lying to himself if he didn’t admit that he had hoped to see her familiar, enigmatic face. “Unavailable?” 

Before, Igor could speak, Lavenza folded her arms. “Our sister became the black sheep of the family after she left. She abandoned her duties of the Velvet Room.”

“What? Why?” Minato asked, dumbfounded. 

Lavenza looked frazzled, made a, “harumpf,” sound, and turned away. This drew another chuckle from Igor. “My dear boy, she left to find a way to save you from your fate as the Great Seal.” Igor closed his eyes and leaned back slightly. “Simply stated, she left because of her love for you.”

Minato hadn’t felt himself blush in a long time, but such a frank declaration had heat rushing to his cheeks. “O-oh.” Was about all he could think to say. 

Lavenza scowled. “That is all you have to say for our sister’s feelings? She thinks of nothing but you, and that’s how you -”

“That’s enough, Lavenza,” Igor sighed. "We are not to interfere in the decisions of our guest. After all..." Igor gave a wry smile. "You agreed to take responsibility for all your choices and actions, didn't you."

"Right," Minato swallowed, clearing his throat. “S-so if I’m alive, does that mean she succeeded? Or was it this Akechi guy?"

Igor and Lavenza exchanged glances, this time their expressions concerned. “That, we are not sure of. Elizabeth disappeared some months ago, so it appears there could be something else at play.”

“Hmm,” Minato hummed. “Do you know why I am alive?”

Igor smiled his usual smile, already moving forward from his concern of his creation. “All will be revealed in time.”

The blue-headed teen groaned. “Should have figured that would be my answer. Well. I’m assuming you called me here for something?”

Lavenza slammed the compendium on the table between the two, sending an echo across the ethereal room. “Well...you need a Persona to defend yourself with, don’t you? First ones free. Don’t get used to it.”  
\----  
Ren Amamiya had seen a lot of things. But he never actually saw someone else leave the Velvet Room. But as he stirred from the sneak attack - _I’ve gotten rusty in my time off,_ he realized - he saw the world frozen around him, and a glowing blue door sitting in the middle of the Shibuya street. Minato walked out of it, calmly, but something about the other boy seemed off. Different. 

Minato took out his Evoker, and pressed it against his temple, and for the first time since meeting Ren, the blue haired teen’s lips curled into a sadistic grin. 

“ORPHEUS TELOS!”

As time seemed to tick back into its normal state, Goro was interrupted as a blast of electricity sent him and Loki reeling backwards. 

Goro rolled over to his knees and drew his gun, but Minato was already there, swinging his blade and knocking the firearm out of the detective’s hands. In a flash, Minato used his Evoker to cast Bufudyne with Orhpeus Telos, which shattered around the gun to destroy it. 

“That... was a mistake,” Goro seethed. 

“Oooooh, scary,” Minato sighed, with an eyeroll.

The two began clashing their blades together, Minato pressing the attack, but Goro was able to get to his feet and fight back at speeds no one was expecting. Minato jumped back from and attack just a bit too slowly, his shirt and coat clean from his body, and a light trickling of blood flowed from a cut above his naval. 

But even in mid dodge, Minato had pressed his Evoker back to his temple. “AGIDYNE, ORPHEUS TELOS!”

A harsh blast of fire erupted from under Goro, knocking him behind one of the coffins. Pressing his advantage, Minato charged to his position. But as he peered behind the large wooden casket, he found nothing. Goro was gone, having fled. 

“Damn,” Minato cursed, flinching with every breath. His wound was superficial, but still stung with every breath. 

He walked back over to where the Phantom Thieves had been attacked. Only Ren seemed to be stirring, and it looked like he had taken the blast to the knee particularly as he was struggling to stand. Minato held out a hand and helped the older boy to his feet. “You okay, Joker?” 

“Guess I’m a bit out of practice,” Ren admitted, rubbing the back of his neck as he hobbled to his feet. 

“Don’t worry about it,” Minato assured him. “This seemed like a set up. Do you have any healing abilities? We should get these guys out of here in case any Shadows show up?”

Ren nodded, pressing a hand to his mask. Minato reognized it as a Persona change.

"Whoa..." he breathed, "So you ARE a wild card too, yeah?"

Ren nodded, turning to his friends. "Yeah. I figured you were one as well. You just looked... different with my Third Eye."

Minato recognized that as an ability Fuuka had, but he wasn't too familiar with it. "Well, I'm glad you've been able to recall some Personas. Orpheus Telos was the only one I could get at the moment. How'd you get them back?"

Joker looked uneasy. "To be honest? Not sure. Mine must have returned to me with the costume and the Dark Hour. Come help me with Ryuji, will you?"

After the two revived their friends, they were able to wait out the Dark Hour, only coming across smaller Shadows. While this was somewhat of a relief, as it gave the Phantom Thieves a chance to wake up some underused muscles, it left them more confused than anything. As the Dark Hour drew to a close, Makoto grabbed a t-shirt from a corner store for Minato (leaving money on the counter), and the group reconvened at the station to wait for the subways to start up. 

“What the shit, Akechi’s alive?” Ryuji grunted, leaving against a cold wall. “No offense, Stone, but what’s the deal with these people coming back from the dead?” 

“None taken.”

“To be fair, we never actually got confirmation Akechi died,” Futaba shrugged. “I couldn’t sense him anymore, but maybe he found a way to get out of the Metaverse and escape or something.” 

“Either way...he’s here now,” Makoto replied, rubbing her chin between her thumb and forefinger. “Which means we know he’s after us. Stone in particular.”

“I’m flattered,” Minato deadpanned, drawing a snicker from Ren, which in turn drew a look of scolding from Makoto. 

“I’m serious,” she frowned. “Akechi is dangerous. He’s been a Persona user for years, and he knows where Leblanc is. There’s no telling if you or Joker will be safe there.” 

"Then what should we do to protect them?" Haru asked, concerned. "It's short notice to put them up anywhere..."

Everyone jumped as a a familiar, slow voice came from around a corner. “I will make sure Minato is safe, always.” 

Minato dropped the his old phone on the ground. “Wait...”

A figure rounded the corner, and he could recognize the mop of blonde hair anywhere. Disguised in civilian clothing, she would not stick out to the untrained eye, but Minato’s heart skipped a beat. His eyes met with hers and he forgot his dropped phone. 

“Ai...Aigis?” He stuttered. 

“Whoa!” Ryuji jumped. “I don’t know who you are but...” He stopped. He was going to go into his whole, “tough guy,” routine, but it was interrupted by Minato rushing past him to stand in front of the stranger. “You uh... know her, my guy?”

A lot had happened to Minato in the last day or so, but he hadn’t expected that he would actually be able to see her again, or anyone. None of it felt real yet, in away. That perhaps maybe in his door-like state, he was dreaming. 

But there she was. In front of him. And she gently raised a vinyl-covered hand to caress his face. “You have not changed at all, Minato.” 

He smiled. “Neither have you.”

Futaba shifted, a few feet behind Minato. “Anyone else feeling like we’re intruding on some sort of moment here?”

Ann beamed, “Are you kidding?! This is just like out of a movie! It’s so cute!” 

“Look at the way she just holds his face!” Haru cooed quietly. “So cute!” 

“Why do your new friends talk like we can not hear them?” Aigis asked Minato, head tilting slightly. 

Minato blushed slightly and laughed, as did the rest of the Phantom Thieves. “They’re uh... they’re some characters. I guess I have to introduce everyone...” 

Minato explained the names of the Phantom Thieves to Aigis, and introduced her as someone who had been a big part in SEES operations in 2009 and 2010. 

“It is a pleasure to meet you all,” Aigis said with a bow, before turning back to Minato. “I left the Kirijo group headquarters the second I detected your life signature. I could not believe you were alive again, and needed to see it for myself.”

Ann and Haru let out quiet, “awww’s” simultaneously, and Ryuji rolled his eyes. 

“Yeah, well uh...” Minato rubbed the back of his neck. Aigis always managed to get him flustered. “It’s me. I’m here.” 

“I have...” Aigis paused, a small calculation making her hardware whir, “an incalculable amount of questions for you and your new friends, but I believe they said you are unsafe here.” 

“That’s right,” Makoto interjected. “We were attacked during what Minato referred to as the Dark Hour, by someone who seemed to be out for both him and Ren. Do you know of a safe place?”

Aigis looked around. “We should not discuss these matters here. Come with me, I will relocate you all to safer location.” 

Aigis turned and walked towards the stairs. 

“Why does Stone’s friend talk in such a way?” Yusuke asked Futaba, confused. 

She shrugged. “You talk weird all the time, Inari, we still hang out with you.” 

“Yes, well, at least I don’t tell everyone to, ‘git gud,’ as it were.” Yusuke huffed back. 

The Phantom Thieves followed Aigis as she weaved effortlessly through the streets, guided by her internal GPS. She stopped at a store with a, “For Lease sign,” in front.

“I... don’t think this place is open,” Makoto objected as politely as possible.

Aigis ignored the objection and walked over to a keypad next to the door. Her finger changed into some sort of USB port and she plugged it into the pad.

“WAIT, WHAT THE SHIT?!” Ryuji screamed. 

“Ryuji be quiet!” Ann scolded, smacking him in the back of the head. 

“Are none of you seeing this?!” Ryuji whisper-yelled. “How did she do that?!” 

After a second the keypad beeped and Aigis opened the door. “I am an Anti-Shadow Combat Android. I was created by the Kirijo Group and given a Pesona for the purpose of fighting Shadows.”

“Uh...” Ryuji stammered out, baffled.

“Beep boop.” Ren replied, walking into the building. “Thanks Aigis.” 

“Beep...boop?” Aigis repeated, confused. 

“He’s kidding,” Minato assured Aigis as he and the rest of the Phantom Thieves entered the building. 

As they did, the empty room housed nothing more than one door to an elevator. Everyone crammed in, rather uncomfortably, and Aigis pressed a button to a lower floor. After a short ride, the hum of the elevator cable, and a, “ding,” to let them know they arrived, everyone exited the elevator into a dimly lit corridor. 

“This reminds me of Pach-Saw,” Futaba muttered. 

“L-let’s not joke about stuff like that,” Makoto answered. “What’s down here Aigis?” 

Aigis stopped in front of another door and opened it. She walked in, and the Phantom Thieves were shocked at what they saw; it was a large laboratory, filled with various monitors and lights. 

But that’s not why Minato was shocked. As he entered the room, Aigis turned in front of a group of people. Suddenly, Minato found himself face to face with the members of S.E.E.S., aged in the 9 years since had seen them last. 

“We are the Shadow Operatives,” Aigis beamed. 

“And I see you’ve returned our old leader to us,” Mitsuru Kirijo said with a smile. “It’s good to see you again, Arisato.”


	5. Awkward Meetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Phantom Thieves and S.E.E.S. meet!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: This is purely a fanwork and I own nothing.

In other circumstances, reuniting of Minato with S.E.E.S. would have been heartwarming, but the first thing that immediately happened was one Futaba Sakura screaming, “OH MY GOD, YOU’RE JAPAN’S SEXIEST CEO, MITSURU KIRIJO!”

Mitsuru was taken aback by the praise and turned a shade that matched her hair. “Ah... I’m sorry?”

“Yeesh, I’m the one on TV and no recognition...” Yukari muttered, a bit annoyed. 

Before anyone else could raise a stink, Ren interjected. “Hey, Minato, why don’t you introduce us...” 

“Y-yeah.” Minato stammered, still trying to process this. “So, this is...”

He went around the room, introducing his old S.E.E.S. colleagues to the Phantom Thieves. “And last but not least, this is Junpei... and man, this is making my head spin.”

“Tell me about it,” Junpei snorted. “You’re a blast from the past. Literally.” He looked Minato up and down. “You don’t look like you’ve aged a minute.”

“I don’t... I don’t think I have.” Minato responded. 

“I can confirm his life signs are identical to the imprint he left on me in 2010.” Aigis added.

“When we found him, he thought it still was 2010,” Ann piped in, cheerfully. "It's like a time travel anime!" 

The expressions on the faces of S.E.E.S. became more forlorn to hear this. Except Fuuka and Ken's, they loved time travel anime.

“What happened to you, senpai?” Ken asked, curiously.

Minato frowned and leaned against a wall, and ran a hand through his fair. “Do you guys... remember the day I died?”

“I don’t really think it’s something we could ever forget.” Fuuka replied. “We know that you gave your life to seal away Nyx and the desire for death in humanity’s hearts.”

“Right... to be honest, I don’t know how I held on until graduation day,” Minato said. “I think Aigis and I were the only ones who remembered the whole thing. But I know we made a promise, and I wanted to make it until that day. So when I heard your voices, I just... I let go.” 

Nobody in the Shadow Operatives met his gaze, but it was clear from their expressions that it was still a sensitive memory. A pang of guilt fluttered in his chest.

“Dude...” Ryuji whispered to Ren. “You think any of us could have done something like that?”

Ren nodded silently. He had the utmost faith in his team.

“But here’s the thing... to be honest that feels like it was days ago for me,” Minato finished with a shrug. “Like I laid down in Aigis’ lap, took a nap, and woke up a few hours later in Shibuya. That was the day Ren here found me, and his group regained the use of their Personas.” 

“I see...” Mitsuru rubbed her chin before turning to Ren. “So it was your group who handled the Yaldabaoth situation two years ago?” 

Morgana jumped onto a table next to Mitsuru, making her jump. “That’s right. But we didn’t have any sort of Dark Hour. We used a phone navigator. What do you know so far of the situation?”

Mitsuru blinked, and looked from Morgana, to Minato, to Ren, back to Morganan, and finally asked the two Wild Cards. “Can... can one of you explain why this cat is talking to me?” 

“I AM NOT A CAT!” Morgana huffed. 

Ryuji doubled over with laughter. “OH MY GOD, I MISSED THAT!” 

Ann stepped on his foot. “Now’s not the time, Ryuji!” 

“Ow!” 

The small room suddenly seemed a lot smaller with all the commotion...

Junpei laughed and leaned over to Yukari. “Heh, they kinda remind me of when we were at the dorm.” 

“I’m not sure one of us grew up,” Yukari retorted. 

Akihiko watched as this all unfurled. “...are they always like this?” He asked Yusuke.

“This is rather calm...” Yusuke replied. "My friends are a raucous cacophony of all sorts." 

“This cat is Morgana,” Makoto erupted loudly, making everyone jump. “A Persona user created by...” She looked to Ren, “I’m still confused on who it was, but he was made to explain the Metaverse and our Peronas more or less.”

“I, too, was created as a Persona user to combat Shadows,” Aigis chimed, rather cheerily. “Are you perhaps mechanical as well?”

Ren and Minato exchanged glances as the meetings of the group devolved. “This is getting a little hectic,” Ren whispered. 

Minato nodded. “It’s like I never left.”

After a few minutes of Morgana insisting that he was neither cat, nor robot, nor robotic cat, nor bus, the commotion calmed long enough for Mitsuru to explain. “Since the Dark Hour returned a few nights ago, similar distortions have been popping up not just in Tokyo, but all of Japan.” 

“It wasn’t like that last time?” Haru asked.

Mitsuru shook her head. “While it was believed that the whole world experienced the Dark Hour, Shadows were limited to the Iwatodai region. From our prior encounters with other Persona users, their experience with Shadows almost always took place in a situation where they were separated from our reality in some way. For example, there was a case of users who accessed their Personas by entering a world inside the television.”

“That sounds kinda cool,” Minato admitted.

“They were investigating serial murders,” Akihiko added.

“Well, way to leave out the most important detail,” Minato muttered, drawing a chuckle from Junpei, Ryuji, and Ren.

“Similar to a way that the Phantom Thieves accessed their Personas through a reality with a phone app,” Mitsuru continued. She turned to Morgana, “You called it a Metaverse Navigator?”

Morgana nodded. 

“The only other times Shadows appeared in reality was with the creation of the Dark Hour in 1999 due to the lab incident, instigated by Ikutski,” Mitsuru mused, “which was an attempt to release the Shadow of the Death Arcana. So for this to be happening again would mean something similar would need to happen.” 

“Isn’t it just because I was released, though?” Minato asked. “I mean, I was just sort of the bandaid over the face of the moon holding Death back.” 

“Wait, what?” Futaba asked. “Nyx was in the moon?”

“Nyx IS the moon,” Akihiko answered.

“And we were calling you a door, not a bandaid,” Junpei added, prompting Yukari to stomp on his foot again, “OW!” 

Mitsuru frowned. “I don’t think it’s that, Arisato. If it was releasing you, then Nyx would likely be resuming The Fall where it left off. Furthermore, releasing you from the seal is not something easily done...not without something like time travel. Something must be simulating the events of 2009.”

“But how did someone get their hands on a shadow of Death?” Makoto asked. 

Mitsuru fell silent for a moment. “That...we don’t know.” 

“Is there anywhere like Tarturus that would maybe tell us where this happened?” Minato asked.

“We... don’t know that either.” Fuuka admitted, sheepishly. “I’ve been scanning during the Dark Hour but we haven’t found anything yet.”

“Futaba, think you could help her?” Ren asked. “Your Support capabilities are top notch.” 

The small orange-haired girl adjusted her glasses and grinned. “Of course.” 

Junpei yawned wildly. “So that puts us back at square one. It’s also three in the morning. Let’s let these guys rest.” 

“Probably a good idea, we can’t really do much of anything until the next Dark Hour,” Akihiko agreed.

Mitsuru nodded and turned to Minato. “We’ve prepared a suite for you back here. There is one for you as well, Mr. Amamiya. We have reason to believe this Akechi character will be targeting you as well.” 

“Secret underground bedroom?” Ren mused, adjusting his glasses, “A little cooler than a cafe attic. Thanks.” 

The Shadow Operatives stood up to leave, but Aigis seemed hesitant. As she remained still Mitsuru turned to her. “Is something the matter?”

“I am hesitant to leave Minato and Ren unattended,” Aigis replied uneasily. “Might it be best that someone stay to safeguard the location?” 

“Ahhhhh!” Junpei cried out, “Aigis just doesn’t want to leave Minato just yet.” 

Aigis turned red. 

“Is the robot blushing?” Ryuji whispered to the others in disbelief.

“Yes, isn’t it adorable!” Haru gushed. 

Mitsuru just smirked. “Very well, Aigis. You’re free to remain here to guard our guests.”

Makoto approached Ren. “Are you going to be okay here on your own?” She asked in a hushed tone. 

Ren nodded with a small grin. “I’ve been through worse. I’ll see you tomorrow, I promise. It’ll be Sunday and I promised Boss I’d help out.” 

“Well... alright,” Makoto replied, and left with the others. The rest of their goodbyes were all rather subdued in comparison. 

“Hey man, we’re going to catch up tomorrow!” Junpei called to Minato, as he was the last out the door, “you’ve missed a ton!” 

Minato gave a small grin and nodded after Junpei, before turning to Ren and Aigis. Suddenly, the room filled with monitors, lights and computers seemed a bit more creepy without as many friendly faces in it. 

It also became incredibly quiet as it’s only occupants were two people who were in hiding due to an attack that was merely hours ago, and a robot. “Hey, Aigis, can you show me and Ren to our rooms?” 

“Of course,” she beamed, turning and leading the two leaders back to the rear of what she called a research center. “The quarters on the right are for you, Minato. The one on the left is for Mr. Amamiya.” She turned to the raven-haired boy and gave a small bow. “Our apologies, as it is scarcely decorated.” 

Ren gave a wry smile. “Nothing I’m not already used to. I can leave in the morning, right?” 

“It is unlikely that an attack would occur in broad daylight, so you will be free to leave.” 

“Cool,” he turned to Minato. “If I don’t see you in the morning, let’s regroup at Leblanc tomorrow evening. If it’s cool with all your people too. We should do some more exploration.”

Minato stifled a yawn and nodded. “Sounds good. We can hammer out the details tomorrow.” 

Ren bid the two goodnight and retreated to his own quarters. He immediately saw what the android meant by, “scarcely decorate;” the small cot in the corner barely counted as a bed. “Guess this will have to do for the night... I’ll see if I can’t stay with someone else tomorrow. I’m not much of a bunker person...” 

It hit Ren he was talking to himself. “I need to get some sl...” He muttered inwardly as he laid down on the cot, losing his grip on reality the second his head hit the pillow.  
\-----

As soon as Ren was out of earshot, Aigis stepped towards Minato until she very close. If it had been anyone else, he might have been uncomfortable. Briefly, he remembered how uncomfortable Aigis’ straightforward personality use to make him.   
\---  
September, 2009  
\---  
_Minato felt a slight sense of apprehension as Aigis took the empty seat next to him. Since he had met her over the summer, the android filled him with a lot of mixed feelings: curiosity, attraction, excitement... but there was a small part of him that felt a sense of dread. _

_But that part of him felt almost foreign. Like there was some... other Minato within him that feared Aigis. _

_However, at this particular moment Aigis looked at him, in front of the entire class, and said, “I wish to always be by his side.” _

_He remained stoic to hide his embarrassment as the class snickered, but also to quell the odd, fluttering sensation in his chest._

_It was going to be an interesting term._  
\---

“Minato,” Aigis cooed, wrapping her arms around him. “I’ve had to run diagnostics on my eyes a few times since I first saw you, just to make sure it was real.” 

He chuckled softly, “Understandable. What’s your diagnosis? Am I real?”

To his shock, she cupped his face and kissed him. After pulling back, she beamed. “I can confirm now that both my visual and contact sensors are operating functionally, and that you are real with 98% accuracy.” 

Minato’s expression softened, and a voice echoed in his head. 

_You have reawakened a vow, giving rebirth to the Aeon Arcana._

He ran a hand along Aigis’ jawline, marveling at the upgraded texture she had received in the past years. She made a small, “eep,” noise, and a compartment opened along her thigh, the muzzle of one of her armaments poking out, taking them both by surprise as they jumped. 

“My apologies,” she said, “I became... somewhat excited. I have received many upgrades in the time you were asleep. Both to make me more capable in battle, and to make me more passable as a human to the public eye.” 

Minato laughed, stepped back to her and grabbed her hand. “Tell me all about them.”

“Aren’t you tired, Minato?”

“I’ve been asleep for years,” he replied, leaving his face a little closer. “I want to hear about you.”

...

He spent a long time with Aigis before retiring for the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If Aigis's thigh-weapon popping out reminded you of something ELSE:
> 
> It was supposed to.


End file.
